I Just Wanted You to Notice Me
by Vehemently Yours
Summary: My name is Kagome Higurashi and I was in the inner seraglio for two years before I was finally noticed. And to get him to notice me, I had to sneak out and save his life. It’s strange how some things work out, you know?
1. I: Gone Prince Insulting, Be Back Soon

A/N-I just got this idea while reading Fushigi Yuugi. I don't think anyone cares where I got the idea from but just in case you did, that's how I got it. Oh and the setting is a time in Japan when they had emperors but it will be far from culturally accurate since I'm too lazy to do any research ^_^;;; And this'll probably be the only chapter told in first-person point of view since I just realized that I suck at writing in first-person. Oh, and I know, I know, I'm so bad for starting a new fic when I should be working on the other ones but I swear I'm still working on my other Inuyasha ones. This idea just popped in my head and I couldn't resist!

Disclaimer-I do not own the Inuyasha characters. It belongs to other people who aren't me. And the song is 'True Love' by Glenn Frey. I've never heard of him or her before and I've never heard this song before. I was just looking up lyrics for this chapter and this is what I found. It fit so I used it.

**¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤**

**_Out of the blue, out of the night,_**

**_You came along and you changed my life,_**

**_You got me feelings things I swear I never felt before_**

_"True Love" by Glenn Frey_

My name is Kagome Higurashi and I was in the inner seraglio for two years before I was finally noticed. And to even get him to notice me, I first had to sneak out and save his life. It's strange how some things work out, you know? I came from a simple peasant family with little money and too many children. My parents couldn't afford a dowry for all of their daughters. They paid a small dowry for my older sisters since they were ready for marriage. I was the youngest daughter so by the time I came of age, my parents couldn't pay another dowry. Then it was either join a temple or a shrine where I'd sit in a dark chamber while kneeling on the cold stone floor to pray all day or copying manuscripts for hours on end in a dusty library or I could come here to join the palace seraglio, where all the women are either marriage prospects or just a one night stand for one of the royals. The idea of praying and copying manuscripts all day didn't appeal to me too much and, truth be told, neither did the prospect of joining the seraglio. But, when forced to choose between the two, or staying at home where I would probably only be a burden to my parents, I chose the seraglio.

The elder prince, Sesshoumaru, would come every once in awhile when he was feeling particularly bored and needed some entertainment for a night but when he became engaged, he didn't visit anymore. I couldn't exactly say I was disappointed (though many of the other women were) since I didn't like him too much and the thought of sharing a bed with him made me shudder. Sure, he was very handsome but his eyes were cold and you'd never meet a more arrogant bastard than him. Well, I would come to take that statement back later. But no, I wasn't disappointed at all. 

After that, few royals or high court officials visited so the women of the harem were pretty much left alone. I enjoyed this because I could pretty much just spent the day doing as I pleased. I was getting very tired of looking at the seraglio walls though. The women of the inner seraglio weren't permitted to leave. I would have loved to go outside. Only seeing the sun and smelling the fresh air through a window for two years would drive anyone mad. That would be the only reason I'd ever want Sesshoumaru or his younger brother, Inuyasha, to come in here and pick me for their little "entertainment." If that had happened, I would have probably been able to sneak outside while they were asleep.

There wasn't really any hope that that plan would be put into action though, since Sesshoumaru was engaged and didn't come after that and Inuyasha never came for whatever reason. I often pondered that though. Why didn't he ever come? We were there for him and his brother pretty much, since they were the only royals who weren't married. I often wished he would come so then I might have a chance to leave this cursed seraglio even for a little bit. Sure, those walls were very pretty. They were very brightly colored with plenty of lovely and interesting designs and patterns but once you memorized everything about the walls, there's nothing much more you can do with them.

It did get lonely in there too, not that I minded that too much since I was used to being alone and kind of enjoyed it most times, but with thirty other women you shouldn't feel lonely at all. There should always be someone to talk to, but no. Those women were the most boring things. When I first entered the harem, I foolishly tried to talk to them but they answered using the least amount of syllables possible and nodded or shook their head when they figured it could answer the question sufficiently. I did have one friend in there though, Sango. She didn't talk much either but at least she talked more than the others.

Well anyway, I guess it all started one day when I was feeling particularly bored and eager to go outside. When I heard shuffling outside the red polished cedar double doors, I figured one of the two guards guarding the harem had gone to relieve himself and I was hit with an idea. I walked over to Sango and asked her if she would do me a favor.

"What kind of favor?" Sango asked suspiciously. I wasn't the kind of person you'd just say yes to since I tended to have things up my sleeve that would get people in trouble more often than not.

"Distract the guard out there," I told her simply.

"There are two guards," Sango pointed out, returning to her sewing.

"One just left. Nature called. Please Sango?" I asked, putting on my best 'If-you-do-this-for-me-I'll-love-you-forever' face.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to go outside."

"You can't do that!" Sango hissed. "Are you insane?"

"If I am it was these walls that caused it," I answered, sourly, and then returned to my pleading face. "Please?"

Sango looked up at me and then sighed. "I'll do it."

I grinned, hugging her. "Thank you!"

Sango stood and slid open the cedar doors. "Excuse me, could we get some water please?"

"O-of course," the guard answered, calling over a servant, who hurried away after receiving the order.

Then Sango laid on the charm while I slipped out the door and ducked around the nearest corner as the guard grinned moronically. 

Honestly, the things they do for a pretty face…" I murmured, making my way down the hall. Then I grinned, realizing that I was finally out. The first place I headed to was the gardens. They were beautiful gardens and I had only seen them once two years ago when I was first walking into the emperor's palace.

Cherry blossom trees lined the small pathway and the air was heavy with their scent. Small light pink petals were falling to the ground and the wind made them dance along the path. There was a small pond in front of a small red and green gazebo. A small red bridge arched over the pond and I stepped onto the bridge, looking down at the goldfish and the lily pads.

I glanced up when I heard footsteps and I saw someone walking down the path, away from where I was standing on the small bridge. He had long white hair and was wearing very expensive-looking clothes. I couldn't see the front of him since he was walking away. I jumped when I saw a man walk out of the shadows to slowly and silently follow the man with the white hair. 

I began running towards them when I saw the man from the shadows pull out a short dagger.

"Stop, you bastard!" I shouted (a very unladylike thing to do and say but I was never one for following proper etiquette anyway). The man with the white hair turned around, obviously thinking I was talking about him since he glared before seeing the man with the dagger. Before the white haired man could do anything, I leapt onto the man's back, trying to wrench the dagger from his hands. I didn't succeed in pulling the knife away from him since he was much stronger than I but I did manage to knock him to the ground.

"Guards!" I heard the man with the white hair shout and soon I heard footsteps rushing towards me and felt strong arms pull me off the man's back. Then the guards grabbed hold of the man's arms, pulling him to his feet. 

"Take him to the dungeons. I'll have him executed first thing in the morning," the man with the white hair commanded and the guards obeyed immediately. I wondered who this man was to speak with such authority. He looked down at me and I blushed, realizing I was still sitting on the ground.

"Who are you?"

"Me? Uh…I'm…" I began to say. I didn't think that telling him that I was from the inner seraglio was the best idea considering I had to sneak past the guards.

"Well? Can't you speak?" he demanded impatiently.

"Of course I can speak! I'm from the inner seraglio as if that's any of your business," I answered hotly. I hadn't really planned on telling him that but my mind sometimes misses some of my own warnings when I'm angry.

"The inner seraglio?"

"Yes, that's what I said, wasn't it?"

"What are you doing out here then?" 

"Uh…Well…I uh…I kind of snuck past the guards…" I admitted sheepishly. "Oh! But please don't tell the emperor or his sons. I don't know what they'd do but it can't be good."

"His son already knows," the man said, smirking as he crossed his arms.

"What?" I asked, glancing around me in confusion, expecting to see Sesshoumaru standing behind me or something. Then I winced, slowing turning back towards the young man. "Prince Inuyasha…right?" 

He nodded smugly. "You're supposed to bow now."

"Oh right!" I said and hurriedly bowed. Then he turned and began walking away. "Hey! Wait!" I shouted, hurrying to catch up with him. 

"You don't say 'hey wait' to me," he stated simply, not even bothering to look at me as I caught up to him.

I frowned. This was the point where I had taken back what I had said about Sesshoumaru being the most arrogant bastard you'd ever meet since his brother probably beat him. "You're absolutely right. Hey, your majesty, wait! Better?"

He glanced over at me and I thought he was going to smile but then it was gone and he looked away.

"You won't tell will you?" I asked worriedly.

Inuyasha shrugged. "If I feel like it maybe I will. If I forget, I won't."

"Do you have a bad memory?" I asked hopefully.

"No."

"Oh…Well my name's Kagome Higurashi, if you care."

"I don't."

I frowned. How rude. Then I glanced up at his head and saw dog ears on his head. "You have ears," I commented lamely.

"As do you. Doesn't everyone?" Inuyasha retorted.

"Well, aren't you going to say thank you or something?" I asked.

"What for?"

I stared at him. "Hello? Remember?" I asked, pretending to have a knife in my hand and stabbed at the air with it.

"You weren't very tactful at bringing the man down," he said simply.

I crossed my arms. "It worked and that's all that matters. You've got your brother beat."

"Beat at what?" Inuyasha asked, turning a corner.

"Well, I always said that Sesshoumaru was the most arrogant bastard you'd ever meet but you beat him in my book," I informed him.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow as he glanced at me. "I could have you executed for that."

"Go ahead. It'd be better than the inner seraglio."

"Well, if the inner seraglio is a worse punishment for you than death, I guess I'll just let you stay there then," he smirked.

"Why don't you ever go there?" I asked suddenly.

"Where? The seraglio? I don't need women hanging on me thanks," he answered shortly.

"You're not that good-looking you know," I lied. He was very good-looking, not as handsome as his brother but his brother was abnormally handsome so he didn't count. Sesshoumaru was pretty as a girl would be pretty. Inuyasha had a bit more masculine features. "Your brother looks better but his eyes are cold and yours are different. And his looks are feminine. Oh, and please pardon me for not throwing myself at your feet because of your striking good looks," I said wryly. 

"I could have you executed for that too but since you seem to be trying so hard to get killed, I'll let it slip."

"Executed for what? Impudence? If you killed everyone for impudence, half your kingdom would be dead. If you executed everyone for stupidity and ignorance, the other half of your kingdom would be dead," I retorted. The corners of his lips twitched slightly and I swear he was about to smile but then it was gone again. 

Inuyasha finally stopped and turned to face me. "If I'm not that good-looking and I'm an arrogant bastard, why are you still following me?"

I stopped short. Why was I still following him? I should've headed back to the seraglio before they noticed I was gone. "Uhh…" 

Inuyasha turned and started off down the hall again as if his point had been made.

"Hey, wait!" I shouted, hurrying to catch up with him again. "I need a thanks first."

"Alright, thank you for nothing."

I frowned. "What kind of a thanks is that? And what am I supposed to tell the guards when they see me trying to get back in the seraglio?"

"How should I know? You're the one who snuck out, you should have thought ahead." He sighed. "Just tell them you were with me or something. They should let you back in with no questions."

"Okay…thanks…I guess," I called and then headed the other way towards the harem.

I made a great first impression, I decided. I insulted him and bothered him. Oh yes, that's what I call hitting it off…but I had obviously made a better impression than I thought…

**¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤**

A/N-I love this story so far. I'm excited for it. Oh yeah, and I'm still working on a sequel to When Did Things Get Complicated. It's just going slow because I'm working really hard on Do You Remember Me? and Old Feelings Die Hard.I'm concentrating on those two fics really right now, with the recent addition of this one to the concentration list. Well, review, it makes me happy. ^.^


	2. II: That's It?

A/N-Wah, I love this story. Hehehe, whoever said that they didn't know what a seraglio was, don't worry, when I first heard the term in Fushigi Yuugi, I didn't know what it was either. I had to look it up in the dictionary ^.^; If no one else knows what it is-although you should know what it is now from the last chapter-it's a harem and if you don't know what that is…then look it up ^.^ 

Disclaimer-I don't remember what the song's called or who it's by but I know it doesn't belong to me.

**¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤**

**I Just Wanted You to Notice Me**

**Chapter II**

****

****

**_Love is on the way_**

**_On wings of angels_**

**_I know it's true_**

**_I feel it coming through_**

**_Love is on the way_**

"His majesty the emperor wonders if you have considered marriage at all," an advisor asked Inuyasha as they sat in his sitting room. Inuyasha was looking out the window and he hadn't given any sign of hearing the advisor. "Your majesty?"

Inuyasha jumped slightly and looked at him. "Sorry, what?"

"His majesty wonders if you have considered marriage at all yet," the advisor repeated.

"No," Inuyasha answered simply, looking back out the window. The advisor bowed before leaving the room.

"Got something, or _someone,_ on your mind Inuyasha?" a young man asked, taking a seat at the table after the advisor had left.

"No."

"Are you sure?" he asked in a singsong voice.

Inuyasha glanced at him, smiling as he shook his head. "I'm sure Miroku."

"You wouldn't be thinking about some raven haired beauty who saved your life and then called you an arrogant bastard would you?" Miroku asked, grinning slyly. Seeing Inuyasha's surprise, he explained. "I was walking down a hall when I saw you. Then I saw the man with the knife and was about to call to you but the girl was already running towards him. After that I followed you. She's got spunk and I could've sworn I almost saw you smile twice. You almost smiled for a woman, I never thought I'd see that. You were thinking about her, eh?"

"No," Inuyasha lied. Truth was, he couldn't get her out of his mind since yesterday. She had insulted him. He had never thought that he would actually ever enjoy being insulted by someone but when she did it, it made him want to laugh instead of being angry. He never thought he'd ever enjoy talking to a woman either. She was a strange lady alright. She made him feel different somehow.

*          *          *

"His majesty, Prince Inuyasha wishes to see a lady by the name of Kagome Higurashi," a servant announced, standing in the doorway to the seraglio.

Heads turned towards Kagome and she glanced up in surprise. "Who? Me?" she asked, blinking in bewilderment.

"Are you Kagome Higurashi?"

"Yes."

"Then yes, you," the servant answered cheerfully.

Kagome stood and followed him out the doors, hearing whispers and murmurs behind her. "Uhh…why?" she finally asked the servant, getting uncomfortable in the awkward silence.

"I don't know. I just take orders. I don't ask why. He has seemed a bit distracted since yesterday though," the servant said, grinning slyly.

She flushed a bit. " 'Distracted?'"

"Yes indeed, his poor advisor had to repeat everything twice before Inuyasha heard him. You must've really caught his attention especially since he usually never shows any interest in women."

Interest? She doubted it. It was more likely that he was going to order her executed for calling him an arrogant bastard. It'd certainly make more sense, Kagome decided.

The servant slid open the doors and motioned for her to step inside. Gulping nervously, Kagome took one step into the room, afraid to move farther into the room. She jumped when the doors slid shut behind her. Glancing around, she saw that she was in a sort of sitting room. Then she spotted Inuyasha sitting in a chair facing the window, his fingers laced together behind his head.

"You don't have to stand by the door," he said, making Kagome wonder if he had eyes on the back of his head.

She took an obedient single step forward.

"You don't have to stand two steps away from the door either."

"How did you…?" Kagome began to ask.

"I have good ears," Inuyasha answered simply.

"If you have good ears, why didn't you hear that man with the knife behind you?"

"I did hear him. I was waiting to get closer to some guards. If I had turned around or called for the guards, the man would have run away and the guards wouldn't have been able to catch him," Inuyasha explained, still looking out the window, his back to her. "But since you knocked him to the ground, the guards had time to get there anyway."

"Oh…Well, you…wanted to see me?" Kagome asked.

"Yes, I was bored," Inuyasha answered simply, turning to face her.

"Oh…" Kagome said again, shifting nervously. She had never had to do this sort of thing before in her two years at the seraglio, and although she hated to admit it, she was a bit afraid.

The corners of his lips twitched slightly, seeing her discomfit. "No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to talk."

Kagome breathed a sigh of relief and felt the tension in her shoulders dissipate. "Oh, well why didn't you say so?" she asked, taking a seat.

"I just did." 

They sat in a sort of awkward silence for a moment before Kagome got tired of it and broke it. "So…what did you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. I figured you'd know since you were such a chatterbox yesterday," Inuyasha said, shrugging.

"Eh…" Then she glanced out the window to see the sun was shining brightly. "Can we walk around outside while we talk? Please?"

Inuyasha glanced at her and then nodded, standing up and sliding the doors open. The servant that had brought Kagome here fell into the room when the doors slid open.

"Hehehehe…" he laughed nervously. "I was just uh…walking by…and uhh…wondering if you perhaps…wanted something to ehh…drink. Yeah, that's it!" he explained.

Inuyasha's left eye twitched slightly in irritation. "You are such a bad liar Miroku."

"Ah, but that's a good thing right?" Miroku asked, grinning.

"Sometimes, but right now it'd be really good if you could come up with a plausible excuse for you to be here seeing as his eye is twitching and I don't think that's a good thing," Kagome said, glancing over at Inuyasha. "How about you were checking the door because you thought it was infested with mice?"

Miroku grinned and chuckled. "Well I like her."

Inuyasha grumbled and walked past them and down the hall.

"Hey! Wait up! Oops, I mean, hey, your majesty! Wait up! I mean please wait your majesty. No, your majesty please-Ah, nevermind…" Kagome tried to correct but gave up when she caught up to him.

"Didn't they teach you any sort of etiquette in there?" Inuyasha asked, referring to the inner seraglio.

"Ehh…They did but…I didn't really pay attention," Kagome admitted, smiling sheepishly.

Inuyasha shook his head in amazement. He had never met a stranger lady in his life. He should have been irritated and angry at her impudence but instead was intrigued and drawn to her. "If you slip and fall in there I'm going to laugh," Inuyasha called when Kagome went over to the pond and began hopping on the little stone slabs towards the other side of the pond.

"If I fall I'll laugh as well. Glad to hear you're concerned," Kagome said sarcastically. "So what did you want to talk about?" she asked after having reached the other side of the pond and was hopping on the stones again to get back.

"I don't know. I was bored and you seemed interesting yesterday."

"And I don't today?" she asked, feigning offense as she hopped off the last stone to land on the dry ground. "Well what do you like do in your free time?" 

"I don't have any," Inuyasha answered simply as she walked back over to him.

"You have some right now," Kagome pointed out.

Inuyasha thought for a moment and then nodded. "Come with me."

"Where're we going?" Kagome asked, hurrying to catch up with him. He didn't answer so Kagome followed him in silence.

Finally, Inuyasha pulled open a door a motioned for her to step inside. Once in the room, Kagome glanced around and saw bamboo practice swords, bags full of sand hanging from the ceiling, bows, arrows, and targets on the other side of the room. Inuyasha picked a bamboo practice sword off the rack and then walked over towards one of the bags of sand.

Kagome snorted very unladylike. "You call that an aggressive fighting stance? It looks like your getting ready to dance not swordfight!"

Inuyasha straightened and looked at her, glaring slightly. "And I suppose you know an 'aggressive fighting stance?'"

"No, it's just really fun to make you mad because if I get you angry enough, your left eye twitches," Kagome explained. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly and Kagome sighed in exasperation. "Honestly, what is it going to take to make you smile? Just once?"

Inuyasha shrugged, turning towards the bag of sand again. "We'll see."

"Will you teach me?" Kagome asked.

"Women can't learn sword fighting, it's for men," he answered shortly.

"Says who?" Kagome demanded indignantly. "Women can do anything men can do if they tried. Most just don't care to try."

"Grab a practice sword then," Inuyasha told her, shrugging.

Kagome looked down at he kimono. "But I'm not really dressed for it."

"You sound like a girl," Inuyasha said, smirking.

Kagome set her chin determinedly and pulled a practice sword from the rack. When she turned back around, she saw Inuyasha taking off his shirt and she quickly turned back around, flushing a brilliant red.

"You can't fight turned around like that you know," he called to her.

"Right…" she mumbled, turning around, her gaze on the floor (it was a very fascinating floor).

"What are you blushing for?"

"I-I'm not," Kagome protested, trying to make the blush disappear but only succeeding in making it worse. 

"You can't fight looking down at the floor either!"

She tore her gaze off the floor to look up at him.

"You're holding it wrong," he stated simply.

"Well how am I supposed to know how to hold it?" Kagome asked sharply. Inuyasha stepped forward and grabbed her hands, rearranging them on the hilt of the bamboo practice sword. 

When the sun was setting, they stopped their sword fighting lessons and Kagome went back to the seraglio. As soon as both feet were inside the main room, the women surrounded her and bombarded her with questions, all of them talking at once. Inuyasha requesting to see a lady from the seraglio didn't happen often…well not at all so they were all curious.

"What was it like?"

"Was he any good?"

"I'll bet he wasn't any good which explains why he never comes here."

"That can't be why!" 

"Why not? Seems logical to me."

"Nothing happened!" Kagome laughed. "We just talked and that's all."

"That's it?" one of the ladies asked, clearly disappointed.

"Yes, that's it," Kagome assured them, much to all of their disappointment.

"Are you sure that's it?" Sango asked Kagome later when the other women had all gone to sleep and Kagome sweatdropped.

**¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤§¤|¤**

A/N-The next chapter is one of my favorites! So I'll try to get it up real quick because I think it'll be one of your favorites too. I think the next is a really sweet chapter. Anyway, review and tell me what you all think ^.^

Review responses:

Depressed-girl001: I tried to update fast. I think I updated quicker than I usually do. ^.^

Dark-Angels: Really?! I can dance too! ***Does happy dance***

Ame Tenshi: Aww, thanks! And no worries, when I first heard the word in Fushigi Yuugi, I had to look it up in the dictionary too. ^.^;;

Celeste: Kagome/Inuyasha is a great pairing. My favorite in Inuyasha followed closely by Miroku/Sango of course ^.^ Yup, much more interaction and definitely a lot more to come too.

Morlana: Thanks! ^.^


End file.
